I have seen a couple of hunting shows on the Argentine water buffs and am very curious about that subspecies. They have this big hairy dome on their head with the horns curving down and then up like a cape buffalo. What subspecies is this and where were they introduced from(country). I took a very good old Aussie buff this summer.

376,

I shot a big one there a few years back and they called it a Mediteranian Buff. They said they come from India.

Hawkeye

The water buffalo originally introduced into Brazil as livestock and then later into Argentina is a sub species of domestic Indian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). True wild Indian buffalo (Bubalus arnee) are thought to still survive in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Thailand.

To Argentina, they were introduced from Brazil (and to Brazil they were introduced from India )

The main subspecies are Jaffarabadi, Murrah and Mediterranean (detailed from less to more common ones )

Of course, they do have their differences in weigh and body volume... but to make things easier , they can be easily distinguish from each other by their horns

Mediterranean

Murrah

Jaffarabadi

Here's what the SCI record book has to say:

Water Buffalo - South America
Bubalus bubalis

Búffalo acuático, Búffalo Asiático de agua (Sp), Wasserbüffel, Sumpfbüffel (G), Buffle d'eau, Buffle de l'Inde (F). Also called Asian water buffalo or Indian buffalo. Some authorities distinguish between the domestic (including feral) water buffalo as Bubalus bubalis and the wild water buffalo as B. arnee, while others, including ourselves, do not differentiate. As it was the domestic form that was first described for science, the name bubalis Linnaeus, 1758 takes precedence.

DESCRIPTION A large, heavily built, oxlike animal with stout legs, large, splayed hoofs, a large head and a large, hairless muzzle. The ears are relatively small and lightly haired. The tail reaches to the hocks and ends in a small tuft. Coloration is normally black or gray with the lower legs a dirty white. The coat is moderately long, coarse and sparse, with the hairs directed forward from hindquarters to head. The horns (both sexes) are heavy at the base, triangular in section, flat on top with conspicuous wrinkles, and grow out from the sides of the head without forming a boss, in a variety of configurations. The horns of the female are rounder and slimmer than those of the male, but are sometimes considerably longer.

DISTRIBUTION Free-ranging on Marajó Island in the mouth of the Amazon River in Brazil, and in Corrientes province in northeastern Argentina (since 1900). Also on private ranches in Argentina. Several imports of domestic stock were made in Venezuela between 1935-1940; some of these escaped to the wild but are believed to have been killed off.

REMARKS Wild water buffaloes were once widespread in southern Asia, but have disappeared from most of their original range, occurring now only in parts of Nepal and northeastern India in greatly reduced numbers, and are listed as endangered. They were domesticated about 4,000 years ago and have been widely introduced outside their natural range. Today, at least 130 million are found throughout the world in warmer climates, both as domestic and feral animals. There are no biological differences between the wild and domestic varieties, as the genus does not interbreed with domestic cattle; however, the domestic water buffalo may be smaller and have smaller, more tightly curled horns. The water buffaloes introduced in South America are of the domestic type.

I hunt only wild free range buffalo in Corrientes swamps there are there from almost 100 years ago ,most of them are a cross between murrah and mediterranean .To hunt there you must expect walking in the sawmps and horseback riding but is a real hunt .Sometimes the water is low and we can ride with ours 4x4s but its very rare.

Afrikander,

thanks much for the pictures. The Jaffarabadi is the most impressive looking for horns.

I have not seen any other wild ox with a spread anything like that.

Rich

It is still an odd feeling to pay much of a premium to hunt feral cattle, no matter how long they have been out on their own.

That's not what I shot in Argentina.

in brazil have de carabao to

Been watching a few hunting shows with guys whacking water buffalo in Paraguay and Argentina ... it didn't appear to me that the hunters really showed much respect for their quarry ... (using pistol or a very light rifle ..) Some years ago I told on AR of a wounded water buffalo (1,000 kilos or more) that charged us from 10 metres ... This was in Northern Uruguay .... This ancient bull was the most magnificent animal that I have ever hunted .. anywhere ...

Scruffy you are totally rigth ,thanks to this we have had many accidents .
One german farmer was charged while on horseback ,died a time before,another a native was badly injured,CARLOS COTO a real experienced PH was stomped by one several time ago ,10 years ago i operated a farmer that triend to hunt one near MAR CHIQUITA LAGOON -see in google earth please- with injures in liver ,splein ,and both legs virtually destroyed ,i experimented several charges -at least 20- one with SGRAVES ,another with eyedoc in one case we stopped the buffalo with rifle ,second case we climbed a tree -eyedoc wasnt the shooter he took his buffalo cleanly with his bow -.Of course if you hunt in open terrain not sawmpy in hunting farms things are easier ,but real wild buffalo in their territory can be a nice adventure.

seen in de google " bufalos do vale do guaporé - brasil"
this is the best place to hunting, really wild bufalo, in the south america!!